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Sea Cliff, San Francisco: Homes, Bluffs & Real Estate Guide

By Matthew Martinez, Founder, CEO & Managing Broker, Diamond Real Estate Group. California DRE #01869679.

Sea Cliff is a planned residence park on the bluffs at the mouth of the Golden Gate, between the Presidio and Baker Beach on the east and Lincoln Park on the west. It is almost entirely detached single-family houses, most built between 1906 and 1929, on the largest typical lots in District 1. The San Francisco MLS lists it as neighborhood 1F of SF District 1.

Sea Cliff is part of the city’s high-end market, and the questions buyers ask here are different from the rest of the district: how close a house is to the bluff, what the view corridor is, who designed it and what the ground has done over a century. This guide covers the layout, the architecture, the beaches and trails, the hazard maps, zoning, transit and how to prepare a sale. For the wider high-end market, see our San Francisco luxury homes guide.

Sea Cliff homes for sale

Sea Cliff market report

Where Sea Cliff begins and ends

Sea Cliff lies southwest of the Presidio and east of Lincoln Park, overlooking the Golden Gate strait. In the Assessor’s records, the neighborhood’s parcels run from about 25th Avenue west to the Lincoln Park edge near 32nd Avenue, and from the bluff top south toward California Street in the western blocks. The area is small, about 0.14 square miles, and it is split between ZIP codes 94121 and 94129.

Its neighbors within District 1 are the Lake Street blocks to the southeast and the Central Richmond and Outer Richmond to the south. The street pattern is the clearest sign that this was planned separately from the avenues: curving streets such as Sea Cliff Avenue, Scenic Way and McLaren Avenue follow the bluff instead of the grid.

A residence park of 1910s and 1920s houses

Sea Cliff is one of nine master-planned residence parks in San Francisco, laid out to a plan by landscape architect Mark Daniels.

Several well-known Bay Area architects built here. Willis Polk designed 9, 25 and 45 Scenic Way (1914); Julia Morgan designed 50 Scenic Way (1921); Albert L. Farr designed 60 McLaren Avenue and 455 Sea Cliff Avenue; and Edward G. Bowles designed 8 Sea Cliff Avenue. The Hanson House at 126 27th Avenue (1907, John Charles Flugger) is City Landmark No. 196 on SF Planning’s landmark map.

The Assessor’s 2025 closed roll on DataSF lists 467 single-family dwelling parcels in neighborhood 1F, against 21 condominium units, 18 apartment buildings (12 of them with four units or fewer), two flat buildings and four vacant residential lots. Build dates spread across three decades:

Build date (single-family parcels, 2025 roll)	Parcels	Share
Before 1906	4	1%
1906 to 1919	154	33%
1920 to 1929	189	40%
1930 to 1945	58	12%
1946 to 1979	59	13%
1980 or later	3	1%

The median house lot is about 4,000 square feet and the median recorded building area about 3,100 square feet, the largest of the seven District 1 neighborhoods. Those are medians: individual lots vary widely, and recorded area can lag behind remodels and finished lower floors. Many of the larger houses look out over the Pacific, the Golden Gate Bridge and the Marin Headlands, and the view from the main rooms is usually the single biggest difference between two Sea Cliff houses of similar size.

China Beach, Baker Beach and the Lands End trail

China Beach, a small public beach, is inside the neighborhood, below the bluff. Baker Beach adjoins it on the Presidio side to the east. To the west, the Coastal Trail through Lands End, part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, starts at the northern end of 32nd Avenue in Sea Cliff.

From that trailhead the path runs past the Lincoln Park headland and then downhill to Point Lobos Avenue, Sutro Heights Park and the Cliff House. It follows the old Cliff House Railway bed, is wheelchair accessible as far as the Mile Rock Overlook, and has a spur to Mile Rock Beach. Lincoln Park itself holds a city golf course and the Legion of Honor museum, and the Lands End Lookout visitor center opened in 2012.

The bluff and what the hazard maps show

Because Sea Cliff is built along a coastal bluff, the hazard maps matter more here than almost anywhere else in District 1. We checked SF Planning’s copies of the state and federal maps; this is what they show for the neighborhood:

Earthquake-induced landslide zone. The California Geological Survey zone runs along the bluff between the houses and the water, and continues west under Lincoln Park and Lands End toward Point Lobos. In Sea Cliff it reaches farther inland around China Beach, roughly between 30th and 32nd Avenues. Lots on the bluff side of the northern streets are the ones most likely to touch it.
Liquefaction zone. None is mapped across the Sea Cliff blocks. The nearest one follows the creek valley and Baker Beach on the Presidio side, with its western edge at roughly 25th Avenue, so owners at the eastern end should confirm their parcel.
FEMA flood zones. FEMA’s flood map for this stretch (panel 0111, effective March 23, 2021) shows VE coastal high-hazard zones along the shoreline, with base flood elevations of 16 to 20 feet (NAVD88). The rest of the area returned by that map query is unshaded Zone X, outside the mapped flood hazard.
Coastal Zone. Planning’s Coastal Zone layer stops short of Sea Cliff. The city’s Western Shoreline Area Plan describes the Coastal Zone as running about six miles from Fort Funston north to the Point Lobos area at the Cliff House and Sutro Heights, so Local Coastal Program permits do not normally reach these blocks.

All of these lines are approximate. We read them from generalized map data, and a zone edge can cut partway across a block, so the street ranges above are a guide, not a parcel finding. Check the specific address on the state’s official Seismic Hazard Zone map or SF Planning’s Property Information Map, and read the Natural Hazard Disclosure report for the property.

In Planning’s records, a parcel inside the landslide zone is flagged for review when a project involves new construction, larger additions or grading.

If you are buying a bluff-side house with plans to expand, budget for a geotechnical engineer early, and ask the seller for any past soils reports, drainage work and retaining-wall permits. Diamond may refer you to partners we work with; you’re free to choose any provider. A mapped zone must be disclosed on the Natural Hazard Disclosure Statement, and the address lookups are explained in our San Francisco hazard maps guide.

Zoning: a detached-house district

In the Assessor’s zoning field, 374 of Sea Cliff’s parcels are RH-1(D), the city’s detached single-family district, and another 109 are RH-1. Only a few dozen carry other codes, mostly RM-1 (28 parcels), plus a handful of RH-2 and public parcels. There are no commercial zones; the nearest shops are on Clement Street and Geary Boulevard to the south.

The Family Zoning Plan, in effect since January 12, 2026, focuses new height on major transit and commercial streets, none of which run through Sea Cliff. In residential areas off those streets, the plan allows added units within the existing height limit, typically four stories, and designated historic resources still go through review. In practice, a Sea Cliff lot’s value rests on the house and the view, not on development potential, but check the adopted map or the Property Information Map before planning a major change.

Getting to and from Sea Cliff

Transit stops at Sea Cliff’s edges.

Per published route lists, the 1 California ends at Geary and 33rd Avenue and the weekday peak-hour 1X California Express uses the same terminal. The 18 46th Avenue starts at the Legion of Honor in the daytime, the 29 Sunset’s evening trips end at 25th Avenue and California, and the 38 and 38R run on Geary farther south. There is no rail service in this part of the city.

By car, the neighborhood connects east to Park Presidio Boulevard, which runs north through the Presidio to the Golden Gate Bridge, and south to Geary Boulevard for downtown. With buses only at the edges, buyers here tend to weigh garage capacity and driveway access heavily.

Selling a house in Sea Cliff

Sea Cliff has fewer than 500 houses, so in any given year only a small number sell and no two are alike. Buyers compare a house with recent Sea Cliff sales first, then with Presidio Heights, Pacific Heights and the larger Lake Street houses. What moves value is position: bluff side or inland side, the width of the water and bridge view, lot size, the architect, and the condition of the structure and systems.

Assemble the ground file. Soils and geotechnical reports, drainage and retaining-wall permits, and any foundation work. On a bluff-side lot, this is the first thing a serious buyer’s team asks for.
Document the design history. Original architect, later additions and permits, and landmark status if it applies. A known architect is a selling point only if the record supports it.
Run the transfer tax numbers. San Francisco sets one rate on the entire price by tier: $11.25 per $500 from $5 million to under $10 million, $27.50 per $500 from $10 million to under $25 million, and $30.00 per $500 at $25 million or more. A sale at $10,000,000 owes about $550,000, against about $225,000 at $9,999,999. Who pays is set in the contract, and custom varies, so settle it early. This is general information, not tax advice; confirm the figure with your escrow officer or a tax adviser. Our San Francisco transfer tax guide has the full table.
Prepare the city reports. The 3R report and other required steps are on our seller requirements page.
Decide how public to be. Some sellers here prefer a quiet sale. Diamond’s own client database and targeted off-market campaigns can reach likely buyers before any public launch. Public marketing changes that: under NAR’s Clear Cooperation policy and MLS rules, the listing then has to go into the MLS. Our private sales guide explains the trade-offs.

Questions people ask

Where is Sea Cliff in San Francisco?

On the bluffs above the Golden Gate in the northwest of the city, between the Presidio and Baker Beach on the east and Lincoln Park on the west, north of the Richmond District’s avenues. The MLS lists it as 1F in District 1.

Is Sea Cliff in a landslide zone?

Part of it. The state’s earthquake-induced landslide zone runs along the bluff between the houses and the water and reaches farther inland around China Beach, roughly between 30th and 32nd Avenues. The edges are approximate, so check the specific parcel on the official map, especially on the bluff side.

Is Sea Cliff in the Coastal Zone?

Not on SF Planning’s maps. The city’s Coastal Zone runs from Fort Funston north to the Point Lobos area by the Cliff House, and Planning’s Coastal Zone layer does not reach Sea Cliff. Confirm for a specific parcel on the Property Information Map.

Is China Beach public?

Yes. China Beach is a small public beach inside the neighborhood, and Baker Beach in the Presidio adjoins it to the east.

How big are Sea Cliff houses and lots?

In the Assessor’s 2025 roll, the median single-family lot is about 4,000 square feet and the median recorded building area about 3,100 square feet, the largest in District 1.

What zoning applies in Sea Cliff?

Mostly RH-1(D), the detached single-family district, with RH-1 on most other parcels. There is no commercial zoning in the neighborhood.

How much is the transfer tax on a $10 million Sea Cliff sale?

At $10 million the rate is $27.50 per $500 on the entire price, about $550,000. Just under $10 million the rate is $11.25 per $500, about $225,000.

If you own in Sea Cliff and want a realistic view of value, timing and how public to make a sale, contact Matthew Martinez for a private conversation, or read how Diamond handles luxury real estate across the Bay Area and in San Francisco.

Sources & notes

Last reviewed October 2026 by Matthew Martinez.